Barberville, FL — Josh Richards is the hottest driver in Dirt Late Model racing, and now he’s a two-time Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH winner this week. Friday night at Volusia Speedway Park he won his second consecutive feature event, increasing his odds of becoming an Alltel All-Star by fan voting. But after winning the Big Block Modified feature Friday night, Jamie Mills now has reason to rally his supporters, too.
Mills, of Milford, Del., became the 12th different driver to make himself eligible for the $10,000 grand prize, voted on by fans. There are now 11 different states represented in this year’s contest with one more night of racing to go: Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, West Virginia and Wisconsin.
Fans can vote via text message to 247253 and enter their favorite driver’s letter code, or by visiting AlltelAllStar.com and casting a ballot. Votes will be tallied daily until Feb. 28. The overall winner as determined by fan votes will receive the $10,000 grand prize, while the top vote-getter in the other three divisions will earn $1,000. Over the 12 consecutive nights of the event that began Feb. 3, 410 Sprint Cars, UMP DIRTcar Modifieds, Dirt Late Models and Big-Block Modifieds all competed.
Mills outlasted the Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series field for 30 laps, using his VP Racing Fuel to provide the horsepower to his first checkered flag of the season, ending Pat Ward’s two-race win streak at Volusia. Mills lost his power steering with 10 laps to go, and with two laps didn’t think he’d be able to make it to the finish. He was thrilled he could hang on long enough to become eligible in Alltel All-Star voting.
“I don’t know that we pull the attention of the Dirt Late Models since we’re a regional deal, but I’ll make sure the money goes to good use,” said Mills, should he win the online voting contest at AlltelAllStar.com. “I think some should go to charity. It’s like free money, it’s like hitting the lottery so make sure it goes to good use. … It really brings professionalism to dirt track racing. They’ve got a Jumbo-tron up there. I was watching the consi while we were waiting to draw and it’s just awesome what they’ve done here to make it fan friendly. We need fans all over the United States to make this work and Alltel has made it great.”
For the second consecutive night, Richards has proven why he’s the early season favorite to win the 2009 World of Outlaws Late Model Series championship. He’s won two in a row at Volusia, and has five victories overall to start the year. Richards is hoping he wins the Alltel All-Star fan voting because he’d like to help former World of Outlaws Late Model Series champion Tim McCreadie pay a few doctor’s bills incurred from a crash during a race last month.
“Whatever it takes to get him back out here on the racetrack,” said Richards, 20, of Shinnston, W.Va. “I know it’s killing him like crazy, his misfortune at the Chili Bowl. I watched the whole thing. It was just a malfunction of the car, I guess. I’d just like to be racing him, too.”
Through 11 nights of competition at the Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH, the Alltel All-Star contenders and their text message Letter Codes (in parenthesis) include:
Sprint Cars — Donny Schatz, Fargo, N.D. (b); Stevie Smith, Broken Arrow, Okla. (d); Joey Saldana, Brownsburg, Ind. (f).
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds — Jared Landers, Batesville, Ark. (a); Austin Dillon, Lewisville, N.C. (c); Randy Hall, Olean, N.Y. (e).
Dirt Late Models — Darren Miller, Chadwick, Ill. (g); Earl Pearson Jr., Jacksonville, Fla. (h); Dan Schlieper, Sullivan, Wis. (j), Josh Richards, Shinnston, W.Va. (k).
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series — Pat Ward, Genoa, N.Y. (i) and Jamie Mills, Milford, Del. (L)
For more information about Alltel, please visit www.alltel.com. To cast your vote online visit www.AlltelAllStar.com.
Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH Statistical Report — Night 11
Advance Auto Parts Super DIRTcar Series 30-lap A-main
Pos. / Driver
1. Jamie Mills
2. Billy Decker
3. Dale Planck
4. Matt Sheppard
5. Andy Bachetti
6. Jimmy Horton
7. Rex King Jr.
8. Randy Chrysler
9. Pat Ward
10. Larry Wight
11. Brett Hearn
12. Mario Clair
13. Dan Vauter
14. Dave Camara
15. James M. Friesen
16. Brad Trice
17. Sean Beardsley
18. Jimmy Johnson
19. Jeremy Markle
20. Darwin Greene
21. Keith Flach
22. Jim Rasey
23. Matt Jester
24. Jeff Brownell Jr.
25. Alan Johnson
26. Rich Scagliotta
27. Guy Sheldon
UMP DIRTcar Super Late Model Series 40-lap A-main
Pos. / Driver
1. Josh Richards
2. Rick Eckert
3. Darrell Lanigan
4. Scott James
5. Shane Clanton
6. Scott Bloomquist
7. Darren Miller
8. Steve Francis
9. Billy Decker
10. Jimmy Owens
11. Shannon Babb
12. Dan Stone
13. Dennis Erb Jr.
14. Dan Schlieper
15. Earl Pearson Jr.
16. Eddie Carrier Jr.
17. Brady Smith
18. Chub Frank
19. Justin Rattliff
20. Rusty Schlenk
21. Jason McBride
22. Tommy Weder
23. Billy Moyer
24. John Blankenship
25. Chris Madden
26. Rick Briggs
Alltel DIRTcar Nationals By UNOH Daily Schedule
Pits open at 3 p.m., grandstands at 5 p.m., racing at 7:30 p.m.
February 3, Tuesday
All Star Circuit of Champions (Donny Schatz)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds (Jared Landers)
February 4, Wednesday
All Star Circuit of Champions (Donny Schatz)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds (Jared Landers)
February 5, Thursday
All Star Circuit of Champions (Stevie Smith)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds (Austin Dillon)
February 6, Friday
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series (Donny Schatz)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds “The Gator” qualifying Night 1 (Jared Landers)
February 7, Saturday
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series (Joey Saldana)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds “The Gator” qualifying Night 2 (Randy Hall)
February 8, Sunday
World of Outlaws Sprint Car Series (Donny Schatz)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds “The Gator” Championship (Jared Landers)
February 9, Monday
UMP DIRTcar Late Models (Darren Miller)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds (Jared Landers)
February 10, Tuesday
UMP DIRTcar Late Models (Earl Pearson Jr.)
UMP DIRTcar Modifieds (Austin Dillon)
February 11, Wednesday
UMP DIRTcar Late Models (Dan Schlieper)
Advance Auto Parts Big Block Modifieds (Pat Ward)
February 12, Thursday
World of Outlaws Late Model Series (Josh Richards)
Advance Auto Parts Big Block Modifieds (Pat Ward)
February 13, Friday
UMP DIRTcar Late Models (Josh Richards)
Advance Auto Parts Big Block Modifieds (Jamie Mills)
February 14, Saturday
World of Outlaws Late Model Series
Advance Auto Parts Big Block Modifieds
